All the Reviews

Shadow Sister, Simone van der Vlugt

SHADOW SISTER is the second book translated into English from Dutch author Simone van der Vlugt.  Both standalones, this one is the story of twins Lydia and Elisa, as the blurb puts it - identical in appearance, different in every other way.

Starting out on a particularly dramatic note, the book opens with Lydia being threatened with a knife by one of her students.  From there, and there's really no other way to explain how this book works, except to say that the book is about the events that led up to Lydia's murder.  Each sister has a voice, her own perspective about ... Read Review

The Mammoth Book of International Crime, edited by Maxim Jakubowski

This is a fantastic collection of really good quality crime fiction from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.

The compilation is made up of 36 stories (too many to list here anyway) from a diverse range of writers and countries.  That's part of what's great about this collection - not just an opportunity to hear different voices and perspectives from a wide range of cultures, but to see how crime fiction is universal.  Add to that the fact that there really isn't a dud in the bunch, and I found this collection absolutely terrific and can't recommend it highly ... Read Review

Double Back, Mark Abernethy

I really really really hope that, in particular, local fans of spy and espionage thrillers are reading Mark Abernethy's terrific series.  Firstly because each of the stories is set in our own region, and secondly because Alan McQueen is such a quintessential Aussie bloke hero type.

Of course, just setting books in our region or taking current day events as a basis for your books doesn't qualify them as must reads.  What does that for DOUBLE BACK and the earlier books in the series is that they are extremely good layered high-action thrillers.  

Part of the ... Read Review

The Small Hand, Susan Hill

Susan Hill is probably best known to Crime Fiction fans for her Chatto and Windus series, but THE SMALL HAND is a ghost story with mysterious overtones which would  appeal to anyone who is looking for something which is just simply beautifully written.

A short (and sumptuously packaged) book, THE SMALL HAND is the story of antiquarian bookseller Adam Snow as he takes a wrong-turning one day and stumbles across the derelict old White House deep in rural England.  Curiosity draws him towards the house, and the unmistakable sensation of a small hand creeping into his own ... Read Review

The Black Path, Åsa Larsson

I reread THE BLACK PATH last weekend.  I did that because despite originally having read and reviewed it a while ago, it was one of those books that every time I spied it on a shelf, I was drawn to thinking about again.  And I wanted to find out why.

At the time that I originally read it I reviewed it thus:

"THE BLACK PATH is the sort of book that you need to read with your preconceptions and expectations firmly locked in a drawer. Having not read the second book in the series yet, I know something happened to Rebecka in that book, but the details aren't ... Read Review

A Death in Tuscany, Michele Giuttari

A DEATH IN TUSCANY is the second book from former Florence police chief Michele Guittari, billed as a bestseller in Italy and translated into nine languages.  I was particularly interested to read this as the first book A FLORENTINE DEATH had a number of elements which didn't work at all for me, and I wanted to see if this was first book syndrome or more to do with this particular author's style of storytelling.

A DEATH IN TUSCANY starts out with the discovery of the body of a girl near a small Tuscan hill town.  Scantily dressed, no identification, the problem for police ... Read Review

Harbour, John Ajvide Lindqvist

I can't remember the last thriller styled book from a Scandinavian author that I've read - but I certainly hope I'll find another one soon.  THE SERBIAN DANE lingered too long on the unread piles around here - but once started it was fascina

I say I'm not much of a fan of paranormal books, but as with all of my absolute declarations on reading matters, there is an author out there who is destined to blow my prejudices out of the water.  John Ajvide Lindqvist is one of those authors.  Since the first of his books LET THE RIGHT ONE IN became an all-time favourite of mine, I ... Read Review

Dougal's Diary, David Greagg

Dougal is a very lucky cat.  He knows that, so he's very determined to be a Good Cat and repay Man and Woman who kindly took him and his sister Shadow home with them after a shaky start in life.  

Not being much of a reader (paws won't turn pages, let alone switch on a reading light), I had to have this book read to me by my Woman (although we call her She Who Often Returns from the Shops with Squeaky Toys).  Our Man (He Who Disapproves Heartily of the Ongoing Provision of Squeaky Toys) just rolled his eyes and told me to go look for rats in the chook shed, but a dog does ... Read Review

Through Black Spruce, Joseph Boyden

THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE isn't the first book it's taken me quite a long time to read, it's not even the one that took the longest to read, but it did take many attempts before I was able to get any traction.  This attempt I read the blurb first-up and did a little Google hunting - something I normally try not to do.  But this time I really needed it to find out what on earth was going on.  Then it dawned on me why I was having so much trouble getting into the book.

THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE is a family story, told from two main points of view.  Annie is the sister of the missing ... Read Review